2016 has been a wonderful year of noshing for Food Musings.

The year started with munching on salads at The Nook, The Peaks Restaurant and the Capital Grill, then progressed through the delectable offerings of beef tartar at Sous Sol and Segovia. The peanut butter & jam chicken wings were a hit at the Silver Heights as well as the peanut butter and jam buster at Bronuts.

Midyear brought the Sunday brunch buffet at Gausthouse Gutenberg and out of town treks to Jonsey’s and Hillside Beach.

Noodles were the selected fare at Dancing Noodle, Nicolino’s and Tom’s Pho and fish and chips were sampled at both Sei Sushi and the Captain’s Table.

The biggest surprises were the bacon and egg pizza at Peg Beer Co. and the calamari on the seafood pizza at Amici (now closed) followed closely by quail eggs at both Bisita and Fusion Experience. Everything was a surprise Saperavi, the first Georgian restaurant on the prairies.

The year concluded with exceptional tastes of the Vietnamese pork sandwich at King + Bannatyne,

fried chicken toast at Clementine and paella at Simon’s Cuisine.

What does 2017 hold for Food Musings? Well I am still trying to work my way through the reader’s suggestions of Begonia Grill, Common Sense Deli & Bakery, Diner’s Grill, Ethiopian food at Massawa, Latin American fare at Mercado Latino Restaurant & Market, a theme night at Rossmere Country Club and the White Star Diner once they make their move to Kennedy St. On my personal list are Saddlery on Market, Feast Café Bistro, Blind Tiger Kitchen and Crème de L’Essence. So it looks like 2017 will be another busy one with trying to keep up with Winnipeg’s vibrant restaurant scene (and going to the gym to offset the fruits of my labour).

Kath’s quote: “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.”-Mae West

Love never fails.

The high cost of living elsewhere in Canada is proving fortuitous for the Winnipeg culinary scene as Chefs and restaurateurs who have ventured to Toronto and Vancouver return home. Such was the case with Greg and Chef Wayne Martin

Dining with a good friend at the Capital Grill meant that we could share plates when we were both undecided as to what to order for the appetizing menu of “renewed classics”. The linguine caught the attention of both of us. Neither of us are vegetarians but the promise of roasted cauliflower, tomatoes, capers, preserved lemon and crisp shaved fennel was so tempting. In the end we opted to go healthy with a Beet Salad adding both goat cheese and chicken breast but also treat ourselves with short rib poutine.

Beet salads are popping up on many Winnipeg menus these days. The pickled variety of beets took up permanent residency on our kitchen table as I grew up, to the extent that I simply ceased to see them after a while. What a pity, as the deep tones of beets by any description are now one of my favourite veggies, particularly when accompanied by blackberries, balsamic dressing, wild arugla and walnuts!

Regular readers will know that I have a soft spot for made from scratch French fries. When they were enhanced with parmesan and truffle oil, I absolutely could not resist. The Capital Grill’s version of poutine comes topped with pulled short rib meat and short rib au jus. We couldn’t detect the latter and was not overly impressed with the former. So we simply pushed the meat aside and tucked into the divine fries. Later that day I threw the short rib meat into a pasta sauce and received accolades from my husband.

The restaurant is fresh, uncluttered and light filled. We sat next to a west window and basked in the sunlight. Service is pleasant and prompt and we were impressed that the owner took a minute to come over and introduce himself to our table.

Kath’s quote: “The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent, not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious.”-Tom Robbins

Love never fails.